A vehicle in motion, e.g., an aircraft in flight, can sometimes encounter and inadvertently be impacted by cables in the part of the vehicle's motion. The cable can be, for example, a telephone cable, an electricity cable, or other cable. A cable cutting device can be installed on the vehicle to cut the cable in such a situation. In the example of an aircraft, such as a helicopter, the cable cutting device can protect the main rotor mast and associated linkages of the helicopter from cable strikes. Similar devices can also be used on fixed wing aircrafts and/or other vehicles.